Therocephalian
Therocephalian are carnivorous mammal-like reptiles from the Permian and the Triassic with large skulls and dog-like whiskers. In Primeval the Therocephalians have a grooved ridge inside the mouth which can inject its victim with poison. The animals apper to live in large group numbers ranging from 18 to 32. (Episode 4.4) In Primeval An anomaly opens in McKinnon School, and a pack of Therocephalian come through. When a school teacher, Mr George, tries to get a snack from a vending machine, a Therocephalian that was hiding in the machine leaps out. It bit and poisoned him, and afterwards kills him and rips him apart. The same Therocephalian then attacks Steve and Darren in the school's security system room but fails to kill them. It then stalks Beth inside the gym, and kills her. It next attacks Matt Anderson but is beaten up by him and is shot by Becker in the gym. Later on in the canteen, when the anomaly was locked and Becker thought there was only four creatures, he accidentally wakes up some of the nest of Therocephalians. While he is shooting them, he is bitten by one. Matt rescues Becker, and they try to get out of the canteen but are overwhelmed by the whole nest of Therocephlians - until Connor Temple, Darren and Steve gassed them with home-made gas bombs. It is likely that the entire nest was killed largely due to the fact that the gasses used by Connor, Darren and Steve being toxic containing chlorine (which makes the gas likely to be chlorine triflouride). Biology Therocephalians ("beast-heads") are named after their large skulls, which, along with the structure of their teeth, suggest that they were successful carnivores. Like other non-mammalian synapsids, Therocephalians are described as mammal-like reptiles, although in fact, Therocephalia is the group most closely related to the cynodonts, which gave rise to the mammals. This relationship takes evidence in a variety of anatomical features, possibly including whiskers and hair. The Therocephalians evolved from an early line of pre-mammalian therapsida called 'theriodonts'. Therocephalians are at least as ancient as a third large branch of therapsids, the Gorgonopsids, which they resemble in many primitive features. The therocephalians, however, outlasted the Gorgonopsids, persisting into the early - middle Triassic period. Errors *The size of the Therocephalian that was hiding in the vending machine would not have allowed it to fit inside the vending machine. *The size of the Therocephalians in Episode 4.4 are slightly larger than real Therocephalians. *When Beth is killed, the attack would appear to have left large amounts of blood, but no trace of the attack is seen. *The Therocephalians are shown with external ears, but actually they have internal ears, like lizards. Venom Symptoms *Paralysis *Weakening of the body *Bitten area on the skin turns reddish brown and black,turns purple after death *Death usually within a few minutes of contact. Trivia *These are the first prehistoric creatures to kill a child in Primeval. *These are the second venomous creatures the show has featured, after the Arthropleura. *The Therocephalians appear to range in size from a small dog to a wolf, as the ones that were sleeping near the anomaly were a lot smaller than the one hiding in the vending machine (the ones sleeping near the anomaly were likely younger than the one hiding in the vending machine). *This the third mammal-like reptile the team has encountered. *The Therocephalians in Primeval appear to be based on the Therocephalians in Tim Haines' previous production Walking With Monsters. *They appear to be nocturnal and live in large family groups because in several parts they are seen sleeping together, even though it was bright outside (although they may have been suffering from "jet lag"). *No therocephalian has venom except for Euchambersia, so these therocephalians are probably Euchambersias. *Based on the statement about the Therocephalians's venom that says that their venom is as deadly as the black mamba venom, it's reasonable to think that the Therocephalians in Primeval have a venom that is similar to that of a black mamba's. *The Therocephalians are the only venomous vertebrate animals to appear in Primeval. *This is the second creature to kill a child,the first is the Camoflauge Beast. *This may be the first Triassic creature to be encountered on the show. Gallery Therocephalian.jpg Therocephalian 1.JPG Therocephalian 2.JPG Therocephalian 3.JPG Therocephalians.jpg default-3.jpg Episode4_4_5.jpg Category:Creatures Category:Creatures that cause deaths Category:Series 4 Creatures Category:Mammal-like reptiles Category:Permian creatures Category:Synapsids Category:Triassic Creatures Category:Paleozoic creatures